Metro Washington Council afl-cio

Well over 1,000 activists marched and danced through DC streets Monday as they made their way from the AFL-CIO to the offices of the US Trade Representative, where police re-routed traffic as the demonstrators made clear their opposition to the Fast Track trade legislation now being rushed through Congress. The usual contingents of union members were buoyed by young activists in town for the Populism2015 conference, who led the way with spirited chants like “We are the people; we’ve got a story. We’ll tell the whole wide world this is people territory!” In addition to speakers like AFL-CIO president Richard Trumka, CWA’s Larry Cohen, AFL-CIO Executive Vice President Tefere Gebre, Mark Dimondstein of the APWU and Senator Bernie Sanders, populist Jim Hightower cut to the core of the issue by saying that “The only thing you need to know about Fast Track is that they don’t want you to know about it!” Monday’s rally followed a similarly well-attended rally on Capitol Hill last week, and opposition has been building across the country. NOVA Labor phone-bankers made over 1,000 calls last Saturday, as 16 different unions participated. The phonebank will be open at NOVA Labor all week; click here for details.photos by Chris Garlock (top right) and Dolores Gerber (left)